Recent News

Microsoft has made its Live Encoding service generally available as part of a slew of updates announced for the Azure Media Services suite. Live Encoding is a powerful service that lets broadcasters send one video stream to Microsoft’s cloud and get it encoded there into an adaptive bitrate stream that can be sent to different types of devices. That means a video producer can send a single high-quality stream to the cloud that can then be streamed in lower quality to people on slower connections.

At Gamescom 2015, Microsoft announced that Windows 10 and backwards compatibility – which lets you play your Xbox 360 games on your Xbox One – is finally hitting the console in November. In a run up to that, members of the Xbox One Preview Program will be invited to try it out with invites being sent in phases.

Microsoft has announced that it will be releasing its Office 2016 for Windows on September 22. The new Office will have many small but notable updates to the productivity suite which includes real-time editing by multiple people within the desktop apps as well as new design themes.

At the three-day World Hindi Conference, representatives of Microsoft, Google, Apple and other big companies were seen demonstrating how their apps could be downloaded quickly in Hindi from play store of their gadgetry. Alok Lall, Microsoft India Marketing Director, said, “Under Digital India, Microsoft was promoting local languages. We have already developed user friendly in script and phonetic Hindi keyboards. As part of Skill India, we have also developed a Hindi search Engine, Bing, which is a hit.”

Microsoft sent a pair of representatives to Apple’s big press event in San Francisco Wednesday morning to demonstrate new features in Office for iOS that are tailored for the new iPad Pro. Kirk Koenigsbauer, Microsoft’s Corporate Vice President of Office 365 client applications, came on stage at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium to show new changes to the company’s suite of apps for Apple’s tablet.

Microsoft has unveiled the update of its Translator app that should make it easier to communicate in a foreign language when the users are traveling. The watch app will automatically show the users the common phrases in the local language, depending on the user’s location and the time of day. The users can also use the Time Travel feature to view phrases for other times of day. The features will be available when WatchOS 2 arrives on September 16.

Satya Nadella has been a boon to Microsoft and, indirectly, India. At a time when many Americans are leaning towards placing new restrictions on the H-1B visa, Nadella has decidedly shown that America benefits by importing the “best and the brightest”. He is a case study for MBA students and business leaders about what to do when you are entrusted with the reins of the world’s largest software company and how you could change it for the better. Satya Nadella has taken a once-arrogant, stodgy American giant and transformed it into a nimble company that people can like.

Microsoft was welcomed at a high-profile media event to show off software tailored for a new iPad. Apple chief executive Tim Cook offered the surprise introduction by saying, “Who knows more about productivity than Microsoft?”

Twitter for Windows has added group messaging, multi-account support, lists and other improvements in its Window 10 app. Twitter has added a new ‘Happening Now’ section which keeps the users up on whatever is trending at all times.

Microsoft unveiled new capabilities it will deliver later this calendar year with Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2016, the latest release of its customer engagement solution. The most comprehensive upgrade ever for Dynamics CRM includes advancements in intelligence, mobility and service, with significant productivity enhancements to help businesses and workers achieve more. “Microsoft’s obsession with customer success is rooted in our ambition to reinvent productivity and business processes,” said Bob Stutz, Corporate Vice President, Microsoft Dynamics CRM.